189S.] Cybclc Hibamica. 281 



Harebell is Blcaracdn oorm (Blue Thimble), the Foxglove 

 Meirinighc pimca (Fairy Fingers), the Water-Lily Dhidlleo- 

 qlucid/ie bhaitighc (Drowned Leaves). The name oi Lycopodhim 

 Selago is Cr2ibinighe Siannach, the Fox's Paws, and of Saxi- 

 fraga inubrosa, Cabdis'e mhadaidh 7iiaidh, Fox's Cabbage, or 

 Cabdiste daoincviatha, the Good People's Cabbage— a romantic 

 linking together of the plump rosettes of this lovely plant 

 with the inhabitants, real or traditional, of its mountain home 

 well worth}' of the vivid Celtic fancy ; and how much more 

 suitable and more euphonious than " London Pride." 



Another new feature is the emplojnnent of a formula to 

 show the relations of plants and soils. It is well known that 

 many species divSplay a marked preference for or aversion to 

 lime ; and in Ireland, with its great limestone plain and masses 

 of other rocks lying around it, this factor plaj's an important 

 part in the distribution of the flora. The classification of the 

 species according as they are more or less strongh^ calcicole 

 or calcifuge therefore distinctly adds to the interest of the 

 book. As regards vertical distribution, great advances have 

 been made in our knowledge of late years, thanks chiefly to 

 the labours of Hart and Colgan ; and the information given 

 under this head is in most cases as complete as could be 

 desired. The formula used for the citation of published 

 records is distinctl}^ ingenious, and furnishes perhaps as 

 practical a solution of a difficult question as could have been 

 adopted. The problem is to give in as few words as possible 

 not only the name of the finder of a plant, but the date of 

 discovery, and a clue to the published record. Our editors 

 cite the finder's name and the date of publication, which is 

 usually approximately the date of discovery ; by referring 

 to the list of papers in the earlier part of the book, the full 

 reference ma}^ be obtained, if required, from these data. 



In the enumeration of localities, the historical aspect of 

 Irish botany is kept conspicuously in the front, and the 

 oldest records are in all cases reverently preserved. Thus under 

 Arbutus Unedo, half the space devoted to citation of records 

 is occupied with quaint extracts from the earliest observers, 

 from Parkinson (1640) to Mackay (1806). When dealing with 



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